California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Jones, F063909 (Cal. App. 2014):
In this respect the case is not unlike People v. Vance, supra, 188 Cal.App.4th 182 where an officer told the defendant he was there to "'listen and then to help you out.'" (Id. at p. 1210.) The defendant was interviewed after being arrested for murder and the officers suggested the killing could have been accidental. (Id. at pp. 1208-1209.) The defendant ultimately admitted the killing was an accident. (Id. at p. 1210.) In rejecting the defendant's claim of an implied promise of leniency in the officers' statements that they were there "'to listen and then to help you out,'" and that the court wanted "'to know ... the real story ... and [the defendant was] the only one that can provide that,'" the court explained, the only benefit "promised by the officers was the peace of mind defendant
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